I just wanted to share that we have started making our own milk kefir. It's a fermented probiotic slightly thickened drink. It is easy and cheap to make, it contains between 20 and 50 (depending which website you consult!) good gut bacteria and yeasts, and promotes a healthy gut microbiome. We want to be as healthy as possible of course, but with all the talk about the gut-brain connection, we kind of hoped it may help with PD as well.

Anyway, Don's been taking it for about three months, initially two 60ml doses per day, and now three 60ml doses per day. He feels it is helping him with less rigidity, less nausea, and more sleep. Just thought I'd share this in case anyone else wanted to try it.

Homemade milk kefir

You need some clean glass jars, a small sieve, some kefir grains (order online, you only need to buy them once), and milk (I use ordinary supermarket brand full fat UHT dairy milk).

Place kefir grains in clean glass jar. Pour in enough milk to leave a gap of about 2cm beneath the lid. (This gap allows the release of fermentation gases.) Stir gently with a clean spoon, put on the lid, then leave at room temperature, out of direct sunlight (I keep mine in a cupboard.)

Leave for 24 hours, then pour through a small sieve (to save your grains for the next batch) into a clean jug or other sort of container. This is your kefir - store in the fridge. We prefer the taste of kefir when it is refrigerated.

Place the grains back into the jar, and pour on milk to make the next batch exactly as you did the first time. (I wash the jar weekly, no need to do it everyday.)

I grew up drinking kefir - it was available at every grocery store in my home country and my mother insisted on drinking eat which I was not very happy about. Decades later, living in the US and reading about kefir's benefits, I got the culture (little cauliflower-like thing) and started fermenting it. Regular pasteurized milk worked well, but ultra-pasteurized didn't. However, my kids (teens at that time) declared that they are not going to drink "rotten milk", my husband was not fan of it neither, so I ended up using it all myself and after a while had enough of it. Later I've discovered that I have genetic issues with histamine clearance and most fermented/aged foods are high in histamine. Also, there is an issue with quality of milk which is usually loaded with environmental contaminants and antibiotics, unless someone has access to good organic sources.

You can also make water kefir or non-dairy (nut/rice) milk kefir which I've never tried. There is also a supplement "Kefiran Lane Labs" - rice kefir in a capsule, however it is more expensive that making your own drink. Would like to hear from others if they use any kinds of kefir and the results.

I use about 1 level teaspoon of kefir grains in a 500ml jar (jam jar) and I add about 400ml milk. And the grains get sieved out from each batch and used for the next lot - it really is very economical! And I don't believe the amounts are that critical.